With retail news blighted by tariffs and increasing automation, at the workforce level, firms find their approach under growing pressure. Challenged by increasing wages, flexible working demands and a host of commercial issues, flexibility is required.
New research by WorkJam reveals that UK retailers predict a workforce crisis amid the current economic turbulence. The report, “Store Associate Pressure Is Mounting. How Are Retailers Responding?” found that over half of retailers have already frozen recruitment. Primarly, due to government-induced budget and wage pressures.
Nearly 60% in retail expect to make redundancies within six months. Such strategies will put further pressure on existing employees, with 41% anticipating continued strain on retail managers.
Retailers also revealed that they are not confident in the support provided by the government: 35% of retailers view the reduced Business Rates Relief scheme negatively, believing it will have little or no impact on their ability to manage rising costs.
Tool up for workforce management
Despite these growing pressures, 76% of retailers admit their frontline workforce management needs improvement, yet many still lack basic tools to support staff, optimise scheduling and relieve pressure on managers. “Given the pressure many UK retailers face, it is more crucial than ever that they embrace technical innovation. By doing so, they can make significant improvements in engagement and motivation among frontline workers as part of a strategy to ensure long-term viability.” Highlighted Mark Williams, managing director EMEA at WorkJam.
It is now more crucial than ever for employers to embrace technical innovation to make significant improvements to engagement among frontline workers.
Nearly all retailers (98%) recognise that employee experience directly impacts customer satisfaction, yet many fail to equip their frontline teams with the tools they need. Just 14% offer flexible pay options, only 22% support shift swapping and 21% provide no self-service digital workforce management tools at all. With most organisations still relying on basic workforce management systems, the gap between operational pressures and available support is widening – putting both staff wellbeing and customer experience at risk.
In the coming months, further pressure will mount from the consumer side as they consider value-conscious behaviour and discretionary spending, according to a NatWest report. There’s also the consumer move toward experiences away from possessions.